Japanese World Cup Referee Under Fire

Yuichi Nishimura, the Japanese referee in charge of the World Cup opener between Brazil and Croatia, has been criticized for his performance, with Croatian coach Niko Kovac saying the 42-year-old was completely out of his depth in Thursday’s match.

Two of Nishimura’s decisions were gamechangers. The first came when the score was 1-1 and he awarded Brazil a penalty, adjudging that Fred was fouled by Croatian defender Dejan Lovren. There was, however, little contact between the two.